title: Evaluation of preoperative hearing-in-noise protocol for osseointegrated hearing implants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Evaluate the clinical use of a preoperative protocol using hearing-in-noise improvement as measured by Adaptive HINT and Quick SIN in patients undergoing ossseointegrated hearing implantation for single-sided deafness (SSD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary academic hospital and clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  All consecutive English-speaking patients with SSD undergoing osseointegrated hearing implantation whom we have preoperative and postoperative Quick SIN and Adaptive HINT measurements.
  
  
  METHODS
  Measure preoperative unaided and aided (headband simulator) hearing-in-noise ratio improvement and compare with postoperative results.
  
  
  METHODS
  The improvement in hearing-in-noise in preoperative unaided to aided and then correlate to postoperative hearing-in-noise results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total of 12 patients participated in the study. There was a statistically significant improvement from preoperative unaided Quick SIN and Adaptive HINT scores to preoperative aided scores (p = 0.001 and p = 0.004). There was statistically significant improvement from preoperative unaided Quick SIN and adaptive HINT to postoperative implant scores (p = 0.002 and p = 0.003). Comparing preoperative aided with postoperative implant aided, there demonstrated a significant improvement in QuickSIN with -2.7 SNR (p = 0.045) and in HINT with -2.35 dB (p = 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study evaluating a preoperative protocol using both Quick SIN and Adaptive HINT testing for osseointegrated hearing implantation. Postoperatively, there was a statistically significant improvement in both of the hearing-in-noise measures. There was significant correlation between the preoperative simulator and postoperative hearing-in-noise measures signifying the benefit of using Quick SIN and HINT as a predictive preoperative tool to evaluate surgical candidacy and improve patient education and expectations.
authors.affiliation: Division of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, Duke University Hospital, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA. chad.w.whited@gmail.com
authors.forename: Chad W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Whited
authors.forename: Sara C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Unrein
authors.forename: Debara L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Tucci
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Kaylie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D046088:Hearing Loss, Unilateral / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D006320:Hearing Tests / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise; D016348:Osseointegration / Q000502:physiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D057234:Preoperative Period; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome